Teva reports success in Laquinimod study for Crohn's disease

Laquinimod resulted in a robust, early and consistent effect on remission and response rates in patients with Crohn's disease.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and Active Biotech (NASDAQ OMX NORDIC: ACTI) today reported success in the Phase IIa clinical trial of Laquinimod in moderate to severe Crohn’s disease. The study found that treatment with orally administered Laquinimod resulted in a robust, early and consistent effect on remission and response rates in patients, compared with the placebo.

The safety and efficacy study also found that Laquinimod was well-tolerated, with adverse events similar to those seen with placebo, in all the four dosages used in the clinical trial. The trial lasted eight weeks, with four more weeks of follow-up.

Teva reported the results at the 20th United European Gastroenterology (UEG) conference.

Teva Global R&D president and chief scientific officer Michael Hayden said, "Our developmental program for Laquinimod has demonstrated that the immunomodulatory effects of this oral compound stand to apply to multiple autoimmune diseases, and data presented at UEG showed an impressive impact on clinical remission in Crohn’s disease as early as one week of treatment.These data provide a solid rationale for potential future study of Laquinimod in Crohn’s disease.